Authors:Andrea SpreaficoAbstract: When we witness events as those occurred in Paris on 7-9 January 2015 and in Copenhagen on 14-15 February 2015 (mentioning two among the most striking cases in a list which could include many other similar events spread all over Europe and over the years), in which young second- or third-generation immigrants often turn out to be involved, we have the wish and need to attempt to identify, at least preliminarily, hypothetical, possible explanatory factors, whether facilitating or simply intervening. As this essay aims at illustrating, those factors have to do with both the cohesion of the European societies and what is happening on the international scene. The article will only deal with the first aspect, which sometimes, however, is connected with the Isis’s enticement. In the light of the identified interrelated elements, the essay ends with a short reflection on the freedom of expression, which has been more than symbolically challenged by the above mentioned attacks.Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Marta LottoAbstract: The aim of this contribution is to develop several lines of investigations on the subject of political participation of migrants, namely: the possible heuristic value deriving from the understanding of migrants as a category, the connection between political participation and exclusion and the plurality of ways in which migrants actively express themselves.Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Silvia BolgheriniAbstract: The outbreak of the global crisis in 2007-2008 marked a critical juncture both internationally and domestically for most western countries. Economic crises often have an impact on institutional structures and in fact the current crisis prompted national governments to introduce reforms. Italy and Spain have both been dramatically affected by the global crisis, although with different intensity, features and reactions. Both countries introduces territorial reforms due to deeply modify the institutional structure of the relevant local government. In this contribution it will be argued that territorial reforms were already on the national agendas and the global crisis accelerated their (re)start; that Italy and Spain chose different path for reform although starting from the same exogenous context and having the same final aim; finally, that some crucial aspects concerning inter-institutional relations, which should have been addressed by the reforms, risk to remain unattended also after the reforms.Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Valeria BelloAbstract: By focusing on the sociological literature investigating the effects of processes of identity constructions on the formation of prejudice, racism and xenophobia, this article compares attitudes towards immigrants in Spain and Italy for the years before and after the recent socio-economic crisis in Europe. It highlights how different ways of framing its own and others identity, produce for people different results in terms of attitudes towards outsiders. In particular, from the statistical analysis of European Social Survey data, it is clear that the Italian society is more prejudiced towards migrants than the Spanish one, and mainly shows a cultural or ethnic type of racism, while in Spain people have become more inclusive in a decade time. However, the findings also illustrate that, during the years of the socio-economic crisis, the figures of extremist individuals have increased in both countries. Despite this, Spain has shown an important rise of inclusive attitudes towards immigrants; while, in Italy, if renewed and more inclusive immigration policies are formulated, the situation could improve.Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Orazio LanzaAbstract: Democracies are often the outcome of popular mobilizations, but, almost always, only a given group leads the process of democratization. In particular, the formal design of democratic institutions is, necessarily, the product of the political efforts of an élite, whose beliefs and preferences are particularly relevant. This essay aims to identify which legacies of the past have affected the institutional design of democratic regimes established in Italy and Spain after the fall of Fascism and Francoism. In particular it is highlighted the crucial role played by historical legacies, authoritarian legacies, historical memory and political learning. The differences in timing, mode of transition, in composition of the elite and some other factors affect the weight of the legacy of the past. The comparison between Italy and Spain provide a more useful information and explanation for the differences in institutional designs of two countries.Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Rafaella Pilo, Gianluca ScroccuAbstract: The objective of this paper is to highlight reasons and effects of the longue durée on the close relationship that linked Italian and Spanish nations. We aim at focusing on changes, but also on the resistance of this relationship based on a dynamic process able to include continuity and transitions in European history and, then, gradually, in the global dimension. Our main purpose is to specify the long and variable trend of the relationships between the two nations during six centuries, starting from the sixteenth - the very beginning of the Spanish hegemony in the Mediterranean area - and continuing until nowadays and present time’s challenges. The essay, finally, aims at answering, even in a partial and necessarily incomplete way, a key question: after a long (“eternal”?) history in common, can we find a shared identity between persistence and abrupt transitions?Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Fermín BouzaAbstract: Construction of modernity brings a new individualism and a constant presence of the media. The new individuals are giving the construction of the public agenda to the media, who interpret the theory of ongoing economic crisis, which has forced us to rethink the economic and political order. The metaphor of Noah’s Ark is used to visualize a situation where we must seriously begin to choose what to keep of the current scrap. The sociology of the future, as the Ark, should evaluate this modern history and help build a possible plan for a livable future.Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Fabio de NardisAbstract: Is it any use to compare two nations such as Spain and Italy? Why not extend it to other nations? Or, conversely, why not dwell on one of the two cases by analyzing it in depth? These three simple questions require a careful reflection on the logic of comparison in the social sciences. In the construction of a research design, the comparatist must in fact solve some methodological tangles by establishing: 1) the «unit (or units) of analysis» on which the research should be oriented; 2) The space-temporal context in which the research ranks; 3) the conceptual definition of properties (or variables). These three operations have some methodological implications which require an effort of conceptualization and classification necessary for a proper comparative research. In addition, researchers must make a clear strategic choice with respect to their empirical path. After determining the research field, it is necessary to cope with the problem of choosing the most appropriate units to be selected as a sample. The choice to compare two countries similar in many respects and historically connected such as Spain and Italy assumes the use of the so-called strategy of “most similar systems design”. It is useful to solve the problem of the “diffusion” and to reduce the unwanted historical associations. Starting from these reflections, the aim of this paper is to analyze the methodological implications of the comparison between the two countries under study.Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Cesáreo Rodríguez-Aguilera de PratAbstract: The severe economic crisis that began in 2008 has encouraged the new emergence of protest parties in some European countries. The erosion of traditional politics has been capitalized by populist oriented movements: in the Italian case the Movimento 5 Stelle and in the Spanish case Podemos. The goal of this contribution is the analysis of the causes, organizational trajectories, leadership structures, social bases and ideological and programmatic issues of both parties. The M5S and Podemos have strategic and ideological differences, but share the radical criticism of the “system” which they disqualify outright.Issue No:Vol. 6

Authors:Luca Raffini, Clemente Penalva, Antonio AlaminosAbstract: The crisis affecting European Union, and especially Mediterranean countries, is both an economic and a political crisis. In a broad sense, we can look at the crisis as the result of an internal crisis of the neoliberal model, exacerbating the perceived subordination of politics to the economy, and therefore the deficit of legitimacy and involvement that characterizes both European and national institutions. The decline in support for traditional political organizations and reduction of conventional political participation is accompanied by a process of reinvention of politics, which takes form in grass-root, non conventional participation. New political actors challenge economic and political institution and claim for a renewal of democracy and for a new relation between economy and politics. The article, after comparing steps and dimension of crisis, explores the characteristics of anti- austerity movements in Spain and in Italy, analyzing differences and similarities. Finally, we locate the movilization occurred in these two countries within the context of the global cycles of protest.Issue No:Vol. 6